Tufting machines

ABSTRACT

A cut pile tufting machine which includes mechanism for feeding yarns at a higher or at a lower speed to selected needles under pattern control, oscillating tufting hooks each of which has spaced upper and lower bills which face in the direction opposite to the direction of travel of backing cloth through the machine, the upper bill only entering the loop just formed by a needle upon oscillation of the hook towards the needle, the upper bill being hook shaped and having a lower surface adjacent the tip of the hook along which the loops travel as the backing cloth travels through the machine towards a slot between the two bills, the loops being pulled through the slot, when under tension, to be caught in the bight of the hook to produce low pile and the loops, when not under tension, moving past the slot on to the lower bill to produce high pile, and knives which coact with the hooks to sever loops on both bills of the hooks.

United States Patent 1191 Woodcock 1 1 TUFTING MACHINES [75] Inventor: Douglas George Woodcock, Burnley,

England [73] Assignee: Edgar Pickering (Blackburn) Limited, Blackburn, Lancashire, England 22 Filed: Apr. 13, 1973 21 Appl. No.: 351,001

Mueller 112/79 R [11] 3,820,482 June 28, 1974 Primary Examiner-James R. Boler Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Watson, Cole, Grindle & Watson 57] ABSTRACT A cut pile tufting machine which includes mechanism for feeding yams at a higher or at a lower speed to selected needles under pattern control, oscillating tufting hooks each of which has spaced upper and lower hills which face in the direction opposite to the direction of travel of backing cloth through the machine, the upper bill only entering the loop just formed by a needle upon oscillation of the hook towards the needle, the upper bill being hook shaped and having a lower surface adjacent the tip of the hook along which the loops travel as the backing cloth travels through the machine towards a slot between the two bills, the loops being pulled through the slot, when under tension, to be caught in the bight of the hook to produce low pile and the loops, when not under tension, moving past the slot on to the lower bill to produce high pile, and knives which coact with the hooks to sever loops on both bills of the books.

2 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures TUFIING MACHINES In British Application No. 53916/70 I have described and claimed a cut pile tufting machine which includes mechanism for feeding yarns at a higher or at a lower speed to selected needles under pattern control, oscillating tufmg hooks each of which has spaced upper and lower bills which face in the direction opposite to the direction of travel of backing cloth through the machine, the upper bill only entering the loop just formed by a needle upon oscillation of the hook towards the needle, and a yieldable yarn control member which normally causes transfer, as the cloth advances, of loops picked up by the upper bill of the hook to the lower bill but yields, in response to tension of the yarn when the yarn feed mechanism is supplying yarn at the lower speed to the associated needle, to cause the loops to remain on the upper bill and knives which coact with the hooks to sever loops on both bills of the hooks.

The present invention provides a modified form of such machine in which the tufting hooks are devoid of yieldable yarn control members and have hook shaped upper bills such that when a loop of yarn is in tension as it travels along the base of the hook it will be pulled through a slot between the upper bill and the lower bill to be caught in the bight of the hook to produce low pile while, when the loop is not in tension, it will move past the slot on to the lower bill to produce high pile.

One embodiment of tufting hook for such a machine is illustrated in the accompanying diagrammatic drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates one of the tufting hooks and associated cutting knives showing the conditions appertaining in the case of low pile shortly after a loop has been picked up by the hook,

FIG. 1A is a corresponding sectional view, and

FIG. 2 is a view corresponding to FIG. 1 showing the conditions for high pile.

The tufting machine comprises a transversely extending needle bar carrying a plurality of needles 1 for carrying yarn 2 and piercing a backing fabric 3, a needle plate 4 for supporting the backing fabric 3 and having a plurality of apertures therein, through which the needles pass after piercing the backing fabric, and a plurality of tufting books 6 which are disposed beneath the needle plate 4 and are oscillated in the well known manner in the direction of the arrow Y to engage respectively the yarns 2 carried by the needles 1 after'the latter have passed through the backing fabric 3 and dwell below the needle plate 4.

The machine includes a patterning attachment which is capable of allowing lengths of yarn equal to approximately twice a (low pile) FIG. 1 or twice b (high pile) FIG. 2, to reach the tufting hooks 6 dependent upon whether a high or low pile is required in the pattern design.

The tufting hooks illustrated operate as follows:

Each newly formed loop of the yarn 2 is engaged by the tip 5 of the hook shaped upper bill 20 of the tufting hook 6 as the tufting hook 6 moves towards the needles in the direction of the arrow Y. If the amount of yarn 2 allowed by the patterning attachment is for a' low pile height (FIG. 1), the yarn will be in tension as it passes along the face 11 of the upper bill, which slopes upwardly in a rearward direction,'as the backing fabric 3 moves in the direction of the arrow Z and the yarn 2 will pull itself into a slot X between the upper bill 20 and a lower bill 21 and against the lower face 7 of the upper bill along which it moves with the backing fabric 3 until cut by a knife 10 at the point 12. As will be seen the slot X is inclined upwardly and forwardly towards the front of the hook.

If the amount of yarn 2 allowed by the patterning attachment is for a high pile height, the yarn will be relaxed (FIG. 2) as the tip 5 of the upper bill engages it. As the tufting hook 6 moves in the direction of the arrow Y, the yarn will move along the face 11 past the slot X and pull itself up to the lower face 8 of the lower bill. The yarn will then move along the face 8 as the backing fabric 3 moves in the direction of the arrow Z. When the yarn reaches the point 13 on the face 8 it is cut by another knife 9. The face 8 is shaped as shown so as to facilitate selection of high or low pile yarns. As will be seen, the portion of the face 8 defining the left hand side of the slot X is parallel to the opposed face of the upper bill 20 which defines the right hand side of the slot X.

Each of the tufting hooks 6 may be manufactured of two parts secured together to permit of easier and more accurate machining.

What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

l. A cut pile tufting machine which includes mechanism for feeding yarns at a higher or at a lower speed to selected needles under pattern control, oscillating tufting hooks each of which has spaced upper and lower bills which face in the direction opposite to the direction of travel of backing cloth through the machine, the upper bill only entering the loop just formed by a needle upon oscillation of the hook towards the needle, the upper bill being hook shaped and having a lower surface adjacent the tip of the hook along which the loops travel as the backing cloth travels through the machine towards a slot between the two bills, the loops being pulled through the slot, when under tension, to be caught in the bight of the hook to produce low pile and the loops, when not under tension, moving past the slot on to the lower bill to produce high pile, and knives which coact with the hooks to sever loops on both bills of the hooks.

2. A tufting machine as claimed in claim 1, in which the slot in each tufting hook is inclined upwardly and forwardly towards the front of the hook and the lower face of the upper bill extends upwardly and rearwardly from the tip of the hook to the slot. 

1. A cut pile tufting machine which includes mechanism for feeding yarns at a higher or at a lower speed to selected needles under pattern control, oscillating tufting hooks each of which has spaced upper and lower bills which face in the direction opposite to the direction of travel of backing cloth through the machine, the upper bill only entering the loop just formed by a needle upon oscillation of the hook towards the needle, the upper bill being hook shaped and having a lower surface adjacent the tip of the hook along which the loops travel as the backing cloth travels through the machine towards a slot between the two bills, the loops being pulled through the slot, when under tension, to be caught in the bight of the hook to produce low pile and the loops, when not under tension, moving past the slot on to the lower bill to produce high pile, and knives which coact with the hooks to sever loops on both bills of the hooks.
 2. A tufting machine as claimed in claim 1, in which the slot in each tufting hook is inclined upwardly and forwardly towards the front of the hook and the lower face of the upper bill extends upwardly and rearwardly from the tip of the hook to the slot. 